Jana Bennett Dies: “Trailblazing” Former BBC TV Boss And History President Was 66

deadline.com:

Jana Bennett, the British and U.S. TV powerhouse who ran BBC TV, BBC Worldwide and History, has died aged 66. She is survived by husband Richard Clemmow and two children.Bennett was open about her rare condition glioblastoma multiforme in an interview with London’s Evening Standard in 2019, at which point she revealed she had become a trustee of OurBrainBank, a cancer research app allowing GBM patients to share their symptoms with clinicians.BBC Director General Tim Davie said: “Jana Bennett was one of the most talented television producers of her generation and a formidable champion of public service broadcasting.

She was a trailblazer who rose to the top of the industry, tirelessly championing upcoming talent, as well as having the foresight to bring together television and digital services.

She was a brilliant and gifted colleague and is a big loss to the television industry.”The powerhouse of British and U.S. TV was born in New York State in 1955 and moved to Britain in 1969, studying at Oxford before winning a place on the BBC News trainee scheme.She rose up the BBC ranks swiftly, producing various flagship current affairs programmes before becoming the first female Head of Science, introducing animal shows for the first time such as Animal Hospital.

Bennett became BBC Director of Production in 1997 and then Director of Programs.After a swift period as Discovery General Manager, during which she was appointed an OBE, she returned to the BBC to take up the all-powerful Director of Television role in 2002.During her nine-year tenure overseeing all BBC programming, she was responsible for the launch of hit formats including Top Gear, Strictly Come Dancing and The Apprentice, along with comedies such as Gavin &